In our view, far too many ideas die at the imagination stage. It’s not because people are lazy, we think the primary reason is because many people don’t know where or how to start. So, we connected with some sharp and generous entrepreneurs who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they went from idea to execution.

James Patrick

I actually started with a question. Why do some individuals seem to possess the capacity to consistently achieve great things in their lives, while others tend to struggle? For years this question led me to study the habits of the most accomplished and successful individuals to understand their methodology so I could reverse engineer the process. Read more>>

Marvin Ferguson

Marvleads consulting LLC was born from programs and training that I was already creating in the community. For example, Let’s Get Healthy Cleveland Inc is a non-profit I created in 2018 that provides clinical trainings and presentations to all residents of Northeast Ohio. One year before I did a program in the community focused on cardiovascular health and well-being. I was in love with the impact and feedback I received. Let’s Get Healthy Cleveland was born. Read more>>

Kelly Butler

My organization was my story first. I was a feature in a magazine called the Brilliant Awakening and the title of my article was Live On Purpose. Live On Purpose quickly became my brand, and eventually evolved into my business.. Before launching I first connected with people who could help me launch successfully., investing money and time in business mentors, and business strategists who help me develop structure and organization in order to launch successfully. Read more>>

Neith Reid-EL

Back in July, I had just left a job that wasn’t serving me anymore and my mother suggested that since I had experience with doing locs to start that as a business and so I did. My sister aka my “twin” also inspired me and taught me a little along the way. I knew that one day I’d fall in love with doing hair, so I kept learning and teaching myself. Which then, eventually led me to establishing the business, “Loc’d In By K’Monie”. Read more>>

Heather Young

Fly Young Studio started with the need for a new computer and a bribe from my Dad. He encouraged me to draw a few scenes of my home town, Savannah, GA. In exchange, he’d buy me a computer and help me start a line of note cards. The idea was to do the work once, and sell it a 1,000 times. From there, I built on the concept and now offer a full line of fine art prints, boxed note sets, tea towels and ornaments featuring my ink drawings. It took some time to find retailers, learn to wholesale and eventually move to the online market, opening shop on Etsy in 2008. Read more>>

Crystal Atkins

In 2020 despite the world coming to a stop and reinventing the way we as a society operate, Cucumber and Mint (our med spa) was able to move forward with the support of our amazing clients. But like a true entrepreneur during that down time I started thinking about a new venture within the industry. You see, I’ve always loved the idea of creating my own skincare line, but I also thought I can’t compete with the “big guys”… Read more>>

Kelli Melissa Reinhardt

How I started my business wasn’t like the typical idea of a business, I lost my middle sister to a completed suicide on February 20th, 2017. I knew after she passed that I wanted to do something, but for the first year I was merely surviving, and my coping strategy was to stay busy. I was helping another nonprofit who focused on adolescent risky behavior, the choking game and teen suicide. But since my sister was a 43-year-old adult I wanted to do something in the adult space alongside youth. Read more>>

Christina Moye

I first started with the idea of an informational podcast platform that informs the general community and visual consumer about topics that are current, viral, or trending some sort of necessary information to inform the masses about. Myself and two of my friends Micheal Foster, and Kenyada Davis, whom i attended a Performance Arts Conservatory Program, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy Los Angeles/New York. Read more>>

Libra Hicks

I didn’t understand my purpose until I birthed my oldest son! Anthony Jr. was born on time, however it was a botched delivery! Read more>>

Aislu Kurbanbayeva

The idea of the project I AM HUMAN was born when I first time came to the US in 2014. But in 2020 when Covid-19 pandemic started I was pregnant, unemployed, living in a small studio apartment with my friend I wanted to make a change. Read more>>

Julia Kelly

It all started when I wanted to make some extra money. It was super easy for me to come up with random tasks but I wanted to start something where I could design but also make some extra money off of it. Christmas of 2020, I asked for a cricut machine. I opened my gift Christmas morning and started to create a brand right away. I came up with Julia Kelly Designs. I created a logo, business cards, stickers, and more. Read more>>

Ridge Hardy

I always say the idea is 5%. The execution is 95%. As human beings we have ideas all day everyday but so little of us actually act upon those ideas. When I thought about Red Balloon (my business) the idea truly came from a higher power. Had to. When God or the universe speaks to you you should definitely listen. So with that being said as soon as the idea hit me I began executing immediately. Red Balloon is a platform for independent artist to create content. We produce live shows, podcasts, small music visuals, live music performances etc. Read more>>

Jamella Stokes

My road to entrepreneurship may be a little unconventional but stick with me while I give you some backstory. As long as I can remember I have always loved makeup. Some of my earliest and fondest memories were sneaking in the bathroom sampling my grandmother’s mauve colored lipstick. As I grew older so did my passion for lipstick. I was affectionally known as the lipstick queen in my circles. I guess you could say I was lipstick famous. However, I as grew older I noticed that I didn’t see myself being reflected in the beauty ads and campaigns that I saw on television and in the store. Read more>>

Sally Harvey Anderso

Radical Tenderness was in the works years before I knew what it was. It started as an itch: an itch to use improv and creativity to impact people’s lives for the better. Because improv and creativity, for me, opened up a world where I felt I belonged and could succeed. And I wanted other creative weirdos to experience that sense of belonging and confidence. Read more>>

Kyle Hunter

Ironically, I never had a real interest in photography. I remember using disposable cameras as a kid and having fun with it but it wasn’t an interest of mine beyond that. The idea came to me one night sitting at home and realizing I honestly didn’t want to do the things I was doing. I didn’t feel inspired, fulfilled, or really all that happy. I thought back to when I’d make YouTube videos back in high school and early college and that got the wheels turning. Read more>>

Nikki Coleman

Wow! How did we go from idea to execution? Just Reign was merely a thought in 2019. Battling some health issues pushed me. I knew I wanted to create a business that make me feel good and the woman who looks like me feel the same. Something that was mine that I enjoyed. Read more>>

Kelly Roach

When I decided to start my business, I was working a highly demanding job at a Fortune 500 staffing firm. At the time, I was putting in 60-80 hour weeks to achieve my goals and climb the ladder into a senior leadership role where I was making a multi 6-figure income. Read more>>

Ashley Kilgore

In spring of 2020 I was on a conference call with over 50 other people being told that we are being let go from our position due to Covid. So over night I became unemployed, a stay-at-home mom and a teacher. I fell into a deep depression from losing my job and just needed something to get me out of the funk I was in. I thought it would be fun to make 90s inspired clay earrings. This was a medium I have never used before and thought it would be fun to learn something new. Read more>>

Alyssa Coppett

I began my business in San Diego, California, nestled in just the right crevice for access to all different types of scenery; if I wanted the beach, I was two miles away, the forest, dessert, and open fields were also within close proximity to me and were a resource I utilized as I found my footing with photography. Looking back on my beginning in this profession, I see my passion begin to develop at around age 12, when the middle school I attended handed me a camera and said, “go at it” so they could fill up empty pages of their yearbook. Read more>>

Claudia Garcia

My mother, sister, and I had been contemplating the idea of creating a business around lashes. My sister worked with all types of cliental in the beauty industry which enriched our perspective in customer preferences. The idea of ASHNIC Beauty started out as ASHNIC lashes however; growing up my sister and I had a common interest in makeup. We wanted it to be more than just lashes. Read more>>

Kim Dalton

I’ve always loved photography and capturing moments that I wanted to remember forever. Even if I didn’t have a camera on me, I remember taking faux photos and filing them away in my mind. As I entered college, It never dawned on me that I could be a Photographer for a living so I studied business and office skills instead and ended up working in the non profit world doing payroll and typing newsletters until my first child was born. Read more>>

Aaron Mumford

My business partner Jesse Baker and I spent many days and nights throughout our college years together talking about business ideas that could disrupt the traditional norm. Real estate and hospitality ventures were always centric to those conversations. After a decade of cutting our teeth in the corporate world post-graduation we reunited by joining forces on owning and operating several rental units in South Seattle. What began as a side hustle started to blossom when we took a chance on restoring a 39-foot Stephens Bros. Read more>>

Michael Lisiewski

Matador Surfboards it’s a family owned and operated business for over 60 years it started in 1961 and continues today the original idea was to bring surfing more to the East Coast at its infancy the company has had highs lows and lots of changes. In the late 90s we started bringing it back to its glory trying to put the cool and underground field back in surfing as it became more of a corporate and mainstream sport. Read more>>

Kayla Corbitt

Helping Military Families apply for and find affordable child care is something I have done for many years. At a recent duty station I was able to create an actual program for the local families to streamline the process. I was thrilled, no one had attempted anything like it before and it was one of the biggest pain points in readiness. The pandemic slowed the roll out of that program and ultimately made it difficult for families to access it. Read more>>

Jason Enrique

I’ve always had an affinity for radio since 2005. I remember being a delivery driver back when the only form of entertainment in the car was the radio, no iPods, no bluetooths or anything like that, and i listened to the radio nonstop at work and I became interested as I kept hearing these on-air personalities and imitating them as well as subconsciously working on my voice and craft. Read more>>

Meg Sangimino

When I became a certified yoga teacher, I looked around in the industry and saw other yoga teachers teaching at studios. I found that, while I loved teaching at studios, this alone would never allow me to teach yoga full time. I noticed other service providers (massage therapists, reiki practitioners, etc) branching out with different business models and I thought, “Why can’t yoga teachers do that too?” Read more>>

Isabelle Kone

Being a Native French Speaker, I’ve had people approach and tell me how they loved the French language and would like to take lessons. Eventually I started offering evening lessons and asking for referrals. Doing lots of research more than 10 years ago when Social Media wasnt what it is nowadays, I use the resources available to me (posters in coffee shops, on campus, craigslist and more ..). All this helped me better know my market and market myself so to a wider range of clients locally and eventually worldwide. Read more>>

April Hollingsworth & Bryan Krieger

As soon as people learned we were moving from East Nashville to a rundown farm in Christiana, TN (just south of Murfreesboro), we started hearing about horses and farm animals in need. The first priority was making the house livable. The 1970’s brick home was a complete gut and rebuild that didn’t even have running water for the first three months. That summer was full of demolition, long days, sweat, and building delays, but eventually, the house was ready for us, our rescue dogs, and kitty. Read more>>

Cara Blanchard

From the time I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to be a horse trainer. While in school, I worked hard to gain education and experience. My dad and I spent most weekends at horse shows building my resume. Read more>>

Codie Winslow

In order to pursue my dream of becoming a published author, I started my own publishing company. Self-publishing has grown and become a successful way for writers to cross the bridge to becoming an author. I joined a local authors community as the first step. This provided me support and direction – the feeling I was not alone in my pursuits. Then I researched registering a business name, obtaining a business license, and designing a logo. I felt lost at first because my heart is in the writing part; I’m a creative. Read more>>

Malena Phomsengdy

From experiencing how hectic things were at school. I knew that I had to take matters into my own hands right away. I made sure that I kept posting my openings and had my guests share their experiences with others. I kept myself busy and maintained a client base from the start. Being able to sanitize and decompress between appointments was very important to me. I am a big believer in giving each individual my all. I just knew that I wanted to be in control and be able to do things my way. Read more>>

 

Lori Roddey

I always wanted to have my own business. Even as a young kid I was always selling things, whether it was my Smurf collection or selling baseball cards, I’d run an ad in the newspaper and sell these collections. I always had that entrepreneurial spirit inside me. Read more>>